An Unlikely Alliance
by LCBFourze
Summary: Two weeks after the events on Pokemon Black and White, dragon master Lance bumps into a certain green-haired man. How will this play out?


Hi guys! Been a while since my last story, and TBH this has only stemmed from a random idea that popped into my head last night. I was searching for info on the new Pokemon games, and when thinking about the characters, something occurred to me - What if Lance and N met each other? I built on this and turned it into what you're about to read. I'll admit, because I did all this in a day then towards the end I got a bit lazy cause I wanted to finish it. But this is only my second story and I'm still not as good as I'd like to be, but I hope you like it anyway. All feedback welcome :)

An Unlikely Alliance

The sun shined brightly over Olivine City. As it was a Thursday afternoon, the streets were quiet. The children were all in school, so the only people wandering around were the grown-ups going shopping, or the old people going for a quiet walk by the seaside. For one of the largest towns in the Johto region, it was surprisingly chilled.

Overhead, however, the speed of the winds soon changed, and the silhouette of a large Dragonite filled the sky. It got bigger as it came to a descent, before finally landing near the Pokémon Centre.

If this was a wild one, there would be an uproar; the citizens would either stay away from it to avoid any harm, or get excited that there was a wild Dragonite in front of them and try to catch it, most likely unsuccessfully. However, most people just took one look at this one and then carried on with their business. They knew it was Lance's Dragonite as soon as they saw the dragon master riding on its back.

Being a well-respected man among the locals and the former region Champion, Lance is a well-known face and so normally he is greeted by a few too many faces as soon as he makes an appearance in public, but sometimes they just him well alone. If he's bothering to make an appearance in the high street, he is often here on business and so sometimes the locals just leave him to it-

"My usual please, Denny." The dragon master says to the man behind the counter in a small bar.

-but not today, today he was just looking to unwind in his favourite eating spot in Johto. Lance sits down at the bar, briefly looking up at the small TV in the corner of the ceiling. The anchor woman was muttering something about the Unova region, something about a couple of criminals escaping somewhere. Nothing that he found particularly interesting.

"So, Lance, haven't seen you for a while!" Says the old man behind the bar, cleaning a pint glass.

Lance smiles tiredly. He had little energy today, but he made the effort for a friend he hadn't seen for a while. "Well, you know me, I'm a busy man."

"Tell me about it! I saw you on the news the other day; you took down that ring o' smugglers over in Blackthorn!" Denny carries on, before giving the order to the cook to make the same food Lance orders every time he goes there – pasta, cheese and bacon with a spicy sauce. "I wish I had the motivation to go out there and do all that, but I'm just an old man who runs a little bar here!"

Lance's smile grows bigger and he looks up. "You do a brilliant job of it though, keep it up!"

Denny brings Lance his food, and he starts eating. Lance was absolutely starving and if he was at home he would have wolfed it down, but he remembered his manners and ate quietly.

"You not havin' a drink with that?"

Lance nods, then swallows what was in his mouth. "Just a glass of apple juice."

Denny pours Lance his drink, who then finishes his food and gets out his wallet.

"Okay, how much was that?"

Denny hunches over the cash register and slowly adds up the prices, before re-adjusting his glasses and looking over to Lance. "That's $5.95."

"I'll get that." A mysterious voice says. Lance looks to the right to see someone sat next to him reading a newspaper which blocked their face from his view. Lance was puzzled; he could swear there was nobody next to him a minute ago.

Denny looked at Lance, then to the one sat next to him and shrugged, before taking the stranger's money and giving them their change.

Lance turns to face the generous stranger. "Thanks, but what was that for?"

The stranger laughs, without putting down the newspaper. "Do I need a reason to do something selfless?"

Lance couldn't argue with that, but still something seemed off. He was about to pull away the newspaper from the man's head, but luckily they lowered it before he got the chance.

The stranger had, ironically, a strange appearance. He had a kind, gentle face with dark green eyes. His hair was long and green and messy, tied back in a ponytail. He wore a white long-sleeved polo shirt over a black long-sleeved t-shirt, a white and black baseball cap with grey pants and green shoes. It wasn't his appearance that surprised Lance, however, it was his unusually innocent expression.

"Call it a toast." The man says, finishing his drink and putting the money on the counter for it. "A toast to new beginnings, and chasing our desires!"

Lance didn't know how to reply to such a motivational sentence. Denny held his chin and squinted his eyes, before getting RIGHT in the stranger's face to get a good look at him. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"

The man tipped his hat over his eyes as he stood up. "Unlikely, I am not from round here." He turned to face Lance. "I know who YOU are, but then again so does everybody."

Denny shook his head in thought. "Nope, I never forget a face… weren't you in the newspaper the other day?"

The man laughs, the same innocent tone to his voice and face. "My my, you sure watch the news a lot, don't you, old man?"

In his mind, Lance actually agreed with him. He seemed nice enough, but the problem was that he seemed TOO nice. There was something about him that gave Lance an uneasy feeling.

"Aaaahhhhh! That's it!" Denny yells once he realises where he recognises him from. He pick up the newspaper the man was previously holding and quickly flicks through the pages until he finds a page with a pair of wanted posters.

Lance glances closely at the posters for a pair of criminals from the Unova region – Ghetsis Harmonia and Natural "N" Harmonia, wanted for being associated with a criminal organisation named Team Plasma. Lance then realises what the old man was getting at – this mysterious stranger is none other than N!

Denny frantically points to N's wanted poster. "You're that fella from that far away land who was tryna' get all them people to release their Pokémon!"

N swats his fringe out of his eyes, not at all bothered that they've sussed him out. "My my, how troublesome."

Lance stands up to confront N. Whether he bought him lunch or not, he is still a criminal. "Hold out your hands." He prepares a pair of handcuffs.

N walks backwards, shrugging. "Come now, there is no need for that. After all, I just bought your meal."

"And that was very generous of you." Lance says, walking towards N. "But you're still a wanted criminal, and I'm a government agent so it's my duty to take you in."

N sat down on another chair in the bar, next to a table and once again adjusts his hat. "Those corporate drones on the news are horribly misinformed. All I'm guilty of is a little motivational speeches that a couple of sensitive morons didn't like."

Lance hesitates. Even if he is wanted, is it really his place to arrest him? Unova's very far away, you would think it's not even his problem. If what he's saying is true, maybe he should…

No! The police obviously want him. They wouldn't post notices to other regions for no reason. Lance may not be the police, but he still has the authority to do something about it. Lance holds out his handcuffs again.

N sighs, still smiling. "I should have known. Forgive me for troubling you." He holds out his hands, ready to be cuffed. Any policeman would jump right into this, but he seemed to be coming a bit too easily for Lance's liking.

Nevertheless, Lance proceeded to restrain him. N's smile turns into a smirk as he tries to grab Lance's waist to flip him over. Luckily for Lance, he saw this coming, and he managed to counter it by grabbing N's arms and throwing him to the floor on his front. After this, he restrains N with his handcuffs.

Amazingly, N was still smiling. "My my, you are GOOD! I suppose you weren't Champion for nothing."

Lance said nothing, as he carried the man out of the café. "Thank you for the food." He smiles to Denny as he exits. Denny just stares on in confusion.

Outside, Lance was about to release his Pokémon to transport N, however he noticed how surprisingly civil he was being. He didn't find it threatening like in the bar, just plain odd. Still, he knew next to nothing about the man apart from the fact he was a wanted man, and that was all he needed to know.

Lance was about to throw one of his Pokeballs, but stopped when he heard a noise in the distance. It sounded like screeching tyres. The noise got louder, and finally they saw several motorbikes in the distance.

There were about seven of them, as they got closer Lance got a good look at them. They were bikers, all right. Long hair, shades, leather and denim jackets, just what you'd expect.

"Friends of yours?" N asked. Lance couldn't tell whether he was being sarcastic or not.

The bikes slowed down, and finally came to halt outside of the Pokemart. All seven men got off their bikes. Five of them stood around, while two of them went inside. What happened exactly is unknown, but both men came running out with a large duffel bag before jumping back on their bikes and riding off.

Lance could smell a rat as soon as he saw them, but with no knowledge of what they did, he couldn't chase them. But he could catch up quick if he found out. Dragging N, he quickly ran into the shop to find the clerk hid behind the desk, shivering. "Mam, what happened here!"

Slowly standing up and catching her breath, she finally told him. "Those men robbed us! They had a gun, said they were gonna shoot me if I didn't hand over all the money in the register… called themselves 'Driftburn' or something."

The name sounded familiar, but Lance couldn't think about it now, he had to find their trail quick or else he wouldn't find them. Lance releases his Dragonite from its Pokeball and quickly jumps on its back. Dragonite uses its tail to tie N up to bring him along too. After about a minute of being airborne, they spotted the bikers in the distance, riding towards Ecruteak City. He stayed on their trail, but kept high in the air.

"Careful now, I get airsick." N mutters. Lance chose to ignore him. Pondering on the name, however, he remembers where he had heard it before.

"Driftburn…" Lance mutters, getting N's attention. "I remember them. They're a group of bikers from Hoenn. They went around robbing stores and banks, but when the police nearly caught them they disappeared. I guess they decided to flee here."

"Sounds like you're having an eventful day, dragon master." N notes. "First you find me, then you stumble upon these apes. You must be popular with the local police."

"Well you're about to see first-hand how Lance treats threats to the peace!" Lance assures N. Finally, the bikers stop at an old warehouse and prepare to go inside. Lance lands on a nearby hill, withdrawing his Dragonite and letting N down gently next to him. What he was about to ask was above everything he stood for, but there could possibly be more in there and that could mean disaster.

Swallowing his pride, Lance grabs N by the collar. "Listen to me CAREFULLY. If you want to survive this, you do EXACTLY as I say."

N closes his eyes, making his constant smile all the more creepier. "Why of course, go ahead!"

"There's no telling how many of the bastards are in there. Now that I remember your face from the news, I know what you can do. You have Pokemon, and strong ones at that. What I'm asking goes against EVERYTHING I want to do, but I have little choice. What I'm getting at is, I fear the only way I can get these guys is if you… you…" He finally managed to say it. "…back me up…" His mouth felt dirty even for suggesting it.

N's expression didn't change, almost as if he saw it coming. That just made Lance feel even stupider for asking. "Me? Help you? Now why would I want to do that? You pin me to the floor and arrest me, and now you want me to help you do the same thing to these men? You must be-"

"You may be a wanted man, but if I'm honest, you don't seem like a bad man." Lance says shallowly. Negotiating with him was taking every fibre of his being to do. "If you agree to help me then I'll give you a head start. For 15 minutes, you can run and I won't chase you, but the SECOND that passes I'm coming after you again."

N looks as though he was thinking it over, but Lance didn't think he was. "Sounds promising, but it isn't enough. Call it 25 minutes and I'll consider it."

"20!" Lance snaps. He was in no mood to be carrying this on even longer. "My final offer, take it or leave it!

N sighs slowly. "Seems I have no choice, dragon master."

Lance hesitates, before unlocking N's handcuffs. "I warn you, if you try ANYTHING in there, I will have you in BANDAGES as well as handcuffs faster than you can say Fire Blast!"

N shrugs. "Well I'm not in a position to argue, now am I?"

Lance was about to walk down the hill, but he pushes N in front of him. "You first, I'm keeping an eye on you."

They crept over to the warehouse, sticking to the trees. From the distance they spotted two guards outside of the main door.

"How's this going to work?" N whispers. "One each?"

"Nope." Lance replies. "I have a better idea."

A few minutes later, Lance walks up to both guards at the door alone. The two both see him and run over, drawing Pokeballs from their belts.

"Whattya you want, boy!" One of them snaps. "This is private property, now beat if you don't wanna get hurt!"

Lance smirks and gets out a Pokeball of his own. "Seems neither of you know who you're talking to."

The second biker takes a good look at Lance, finally recognising him. "Hold on… yer that dragon boy, ain'tcha?" He smirks, throwing a Pokeball and releasing a Walrein. "Well I know EXACTLY how to deal with you."

In the distance, Lance sees N sneak round the side of the building and walk to the door now that the guards were dealing with him and he goes inside, meaning Lance's plan had worked. "I wouldn't get so carried away if I were you…" Lance challenges, releasing his Dragonite.

Inside the warehouse, N casually opens the front doors, only to find countless bikers inside. They were all minding their own business, either playing cards and talking or drinking and smoking. Upon N walking in, they all alert to attention and stand up, ready to confront their intruder.

"My my, isn't this cozy!" N says as he gets out a pair of Pokeballs.

"Dragonite, finish it with Hyper Beam!" Outside, Lance's final opponent watches his Houndoom be utterly defeated by the dragon master's ultimate Pokemon. He doesn't carry that name for nothing, he didn't know whether the bikers were weak or he was just having an off day, but he defeated both of them without even breaking a sweat.

Both bikers cowering on the floor, Lance grabs one of them by the neck. "Where's your boss, and where's that money you stole from Olivine?"

"T-Top floor!" The biker squeals. Lance smirks and throws him into a bush, then gives the other one a menacing glance to send him running away, before heading towards the door. As he walked inside, he saw N standing in the middle of a room full of defeated bikers, looking very pleased with himself. Lance smirks, he half-expected N to have made a run for it. Even though he didn't, he was amazed that he had beaten all these bikers in a short space of time. Lance realised he had to be careful that he wasn't outclassed.

N facepalms playfully before walking over to Lance. "So unhelpful! For their sheer number, not only were they weak but they didn't atone their victory by giving any useful information. Modern criminals, I swear…"

"Good thing the bastard out front squealed." Lance says. N smiles gleefully. Despite the events at their meeting, Lance couldn't help but feel some respect for N because of his abilities. That, and the fact that his personality was starting to grow on him.

The two men stormed up the stairs and kicked down the door. This brought them to a small room filled with an open safe and multiple piles of cash. However, their target was standing on the edge of the window holding a gun to their heads.

"You move ONE muscle, and you both lose your heads!" Lance and N stick their arms in the air. The biker leader's Staraptor appears at the edge of the window, then he jumps onto its back and flies off.

"Bastard!" Lance screams, tossing his Dragonite's Pokeball out the window, before completely JUMPING out. Fortunately, Dragonite flies under him and catches him.

"N, Jump on!" Lance shouts towards the window, but the green-haired man was nowhere to be seen. "No way…" Lance grits his teeth, thinking he'd let another one get away…

…And then N flies down from above the building, flying on his Archeops. Lance breathes a sigh of relief, before both men fly after their target. Upon realising he is being chased, the angry biker aims his pistol at them both and opens fire, but the bullets were easy enough for both the dragon Pokemon and the fossil bird Pokemon to dodge.

"Dragonite," Lance commands. "Hyper B-"

"No!" N stops him. "If that hits, you'll burn the money too!"

Lance sighs. He had a point, he was being careless. N smiles. "I have a better idea."

N's Archeops flies higher in the air, getting closer to the biker. "Archeops, Quick Attack!"

"Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" Archeops braces itself, before flying into the Staraptor at top speed. The shock from the impact made the biker lose his balance on top of his Pokemon, and he falls off towards the trees.

"Grab him, Dragonite! Extremespeed!" Lance's Dragonite hurdles down at max speed and manages to grab the biker before he falls. Lance lands safely with the biker in tow, and orders him to return his Pokemon.

N lands soon after, clapping as Lance restrains the biker with handcuffs. "I'd say this turned out pretty well!"

Lance smirks. "You're in luck, this is my only pair of handcuffs."

"Well, this really doesn't feel right." N says, puzzled. "I AM still a wanted man, after all, maybe if I ride on your-"

"Beat it!" Lance replies. "Before I change my mind."

N laughs as he gets back on his Pokemon. "Can't argue with that!" And he flies off into the distance.

Lance smirks as he watches the strange man fly off, before getting out a cellphone and dialling a number. "Looker, it's Lance… yeah I detained a group of bikers who robbed a store in Olivine… yeah, Driftburn, that's right… also, get this, you heard of a man called Natural Harmonia? …yeah, N… well they said they'd encountered him, all they said was that he'd flown off somewhere… I dunno, that's the problem, something about a 'far away land'… no worries, see you later."


End file.
